Brian Statham

They were John James Arnold Statham (1889–1962), a dental surgeon, and his wife, Florence, née Beevers (1889–1955).

He was the youngest of four brothers.

Brian was educated at Aspinal Primary School on Broadacre Road in Gorton and, through the years of the Second World War, Manchester Central Grammar School.

He played for the school at both cricket and football but only played the latter outside school.

He became disillusioned with cricket and developed a preference for tennis as a summer sport.

John Brian Statham, (17 June 1930 – 10 June 2000) was an English professional cricketer from Gorton, in Manchester, who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club from 1950 to 1968 and for England from 1951 to 1965.

Brian Statham was born on Tuesday, 17 June 1930 in his parents' home at 1, Chatham Road, Gorton, Manchester.

Statham left school in 1946, aged sixteen, and went to work as a clerk for an accountancy firm.

He was playing football for Denton West F.C. as a left winger.

He was offered trials by both Liverpool and Manchester City but these were vetoed by his father who was opposed to any of his sons pursuing a career in football.

Statham's football team was managed by Eric Taylor who was also involved with Reddish & Gorton Cricket Club (R&G).

In the spring of 1947, wanting to keep his players together through the summer, Taylor invited them to join the R&G and that revived Statham's interest in cricket.

R&G were members of the Saddleworth & District League.

In October 1947, after Statham's first season there, they renamed themselves Denton West Cricket Club in response to local boundary changes and joined the North Western League for the 1948 season.

Statham continued to play for them in 1948.

Statham turned eighteen in June 1948 and became eligible for national service.

He was able to travel home each weekend in the summer of 1948 to play for Denton West and he topped the North Western League's bowling averages for the season.

He was invited to join Stockport Cricket Club in the Central Lancashire League but initially turned it down because he was happy at Denton West.

He later recalled earning his first money from cricket when a crowd collection was done on his behalf after one match in which he took eight for 15.

He played for RAF Stafford's station team through the 1949 season and took a total of 96 wickets at an average of three.

He recalled that the pitches were so lively that even a good length ball would rise above the stumps.

Statham responded to this by adding the yorker to his repertoire and that accounted for a high percentage of his victims from then on.

Despite his success, Statham did not play for the full Royal Air Force cricket team.

Had he done so, he would have encountered Peter May and Frank Tyson who represented the Royal Navy and the British Army respectively that summer.

Statham decided to accept Stockport's invitation for 1949 and played for them six times, when he could obtain weekend leave.

It was in the Central Lancashire League that, for the first time, he encountered professional players.

As an England player, he took part in nine overseas tours from 1950–51 to 1962–63.

He was a right arm fast bowler and was noted for the consistent accuracy of his length and direction.

Statham is perhaps best remembered for the fast bowling partnerships he formed at international level with, first, Frank Tyson and then, more famously, with Fred Trueman.

Unlike the latter, Statham did not make the ball swing in flight but, by pitching it on the seam, he could achieve very fast deviation off the pitch which accounted for many a batsman's wicket.

He received his call-up in October and served eighteen months in the RAF until 1 May 1950.

He was based at RAF Stafford and did clerical work for one of the aircraft maintenance units.

In 1963, he briefly held the world record for the most wickets taken in Test cricket and, having been overtaken by Trueman, he ended his international career with 252.

His first-class career tally of 2,260 wickets is nineteenth in the all-time list and he has the best (lowest) average of all the top twenty bowlers.

His total of 1,816 wickets taken in first-class matches for Lancashire is the club record.

A natural athlete, Statham was an outstanding fielder who operated in deep positions, usually on the boundary where his running speed and the accuracy of his throwing were great assets.

He batted left-handed, invariably as a tailender, and was occasionally effective when stubborn resistance was required.

He captained Lancashire for three seasons from 1965 to 1967.

He became a member of Lancashire's committee from 1970 to 1995 and was elected club president in 1997 and 1998.

After his death in 2000, part of Warwick Road alongside Lancashire's Old Trafford Cricket Ground was renamed Brian Statham Way in his honour and the south end of Old Trafford is called the Brian Statham End.